check meowt: wonderkittens!

Posted on October 24, 2013 by junebug

I’m so grateful to live in a community that values kids and sees them as vital citizens. So, so many opportunities for kids to perform, to play sports, to create, to learn, and just to enjoy life. And Brandy and I have highlighted many of those right here, from The First Tee, Ragtime Fabrics, and Glen’s Fair Price, to Dragonflies Toys, Larkin Arts, and Ten Thousand Villages. Oh, and the Cupcake Company and Westover Pool. The John C. Wells Planetarium. Oooo and one of my favorites, the Hostetter Museum of Natural History. And even our library, one of our first posts ever.

There are some really great individuals involved in the lives of my children, and to them I am forever indebted, because such kindness can never be repaid. It can only be paid forward. Brandy is one of those people. She’s family, really. I trust her as much as anyone with the hearts and minds of my kids. They love her so.

And now she and Denise Allen have cooked up yet another way to enhance their lives: Wonderkittens! It’s an apt name; kids love baby animals, and it’s sort of a play on wunderkind (in German, it means, like, Superkid, prodigy, etc.). Mozart, for example, was a Wonderkitten. Harrisonburg kids can be Wonderkittens, too, by participating in this year’s Art Lotto for young’uns.

You remember Art Lotto. Local artists drew names of other local artists and then had to create a portrait of that artist. Portraits of artists by other artists. Wonderkittens is the same thing, except a child is paired with an already-established local adult artist. Each of them creates a portrait of the other. The biggest difference, though, is the level of collaboration. The artist must mentor the child: teach him or her how to budget time, meet deadlines, collaborate creatively, complement each other’s work, prepare the piece for display, promote the art opening… all the bits and pieces that go into being an actual artist.

My daughter has been meeting with her partner artist for a few weeks now. I take her to meet him once a week — same time, same place — where they check in with each other’s progress and continue to discuss all those things I mentioned above. The whole who-got-whom thing is still under wraps — you don’t get to find out until opening night — but Bree’s partner artist is… well, a gift. He is extremely patient and kind, very encouraging of her work and her ideas, and just open and willing to guide her in whatever way she needs it. So far it’s been an amazing experience, one she and I both feel truly thankful for. And those thanks extend to all the participating artists, to the supportive parents, to Brandy and Denise for organizing this whole thing, and to Larkin Arts for hosting the exhibit.

As for Cal, he’s not participating, but he tags along with us. And I think it’s good for him to understand that some things are for his sister, and some things are for him. He seems to accept that we all need our own endeavors.

Now for some details. Everyone who had expressed an interest completed a survey online. Brandy and Denise used this survey to match each child with an artist. Questions on the survey included things like, “What is your favorite color?” “Who is your favorite band/musician?” “If you could design a restaurant, what would its theme be and what would you serve?” and “If you could have a superpower, what would you choose?” After looking at all the answers, the gals determine who’d be most compatible and paired everyone up. Then we all met at Mr. J’s to find out who was paired with whom. And since then, we’ve been meeting and scheming.

Bree and her partner have to complete their work by the end of November. The exhibit will be part of December’s First Friday event (!!!!), and all the artwork will be on display that Friday at Larkin Arts!

Of course, there will be another, longer post when December 6 gets here, but for now I wanted to share all this good news and let you MARK YOUR CALENDAR to come see the artwork of my offspring! See you there. And don’t be late!

Copyright © 2012-13 · All Rights Reserved · ilovemyburg.com. Written content by Katie Mitchell. Photos by Brandy Somers. This material may not be copied, downloaded, reproduced, or printed without express written consent. Thank you for respecting our intellectual property.

light up: spitzer art center.

Posted on September 17, 2013 by junebug

Recently Brandy and I went to Spitzer Art Center for Howard Zehr’s opening of Pickups: A Valley Love Story.” (If you missed that post, you can get caught up to speed with one quick click.) That evening we were treated to a lovely crowd, lively music by Shenandoah Alley, savory snacks, and refreshing bevs. Not to mention, a whole lot of creativity.

As I moved through that light-filled building, people danced and tapped their feet and rocked their chairs to the twangs and plunks of bluegrass. They sipped sweating glasses and threw their heads back in peals of laughter. They spilled out onto the wide porch and the plush yard and flopped on soft blankets under the big tree. And I thought, what a lovely place to spend some time.

My friend Jewel, who used to teach art at my school, volunteers at the center. Having recently started back to school, I was glad to see her there and have a chance to catch up. Upstairs from the gallery are several artist studios — seven, I think. In fact, two or three of them are currently available for rent. The Pinwheel Collective works out of a studio at Spitzer, as do Barb Gautcher and Pat Augsburger.

Jewel has a studio at the back of the house — a beautiful, bright space colored with sunlight and supplies. Why is it weird to walk through an artist’s studio? Is it just me? It feels like walking into someone’s bedroom… because really, it is a sacred, intimate space, but it’s also a place for working, and I’m always nervous I’ll touch something or knock something down and mess up someone’s work.

I carefully and gratefully explored Jewel’s living, breathing studio. All the furniture mismatched and scuffed. Tubes of paint that have been squeezed to their absolute limits. Brushes that she’s washed a thousand times. The sloped roof and the siding and a wall of windows. So much history, so much potential. Jewel never stopped smiling the whole time she was in there, like she was lit from within.

You can bask in the light there, too, on Saturdays from 10 – 2pm, and on the first Friday of every month starting at 5pm. Or you can rent one of those gorgeous studios and sit in beauty every day. Visit them soon!

glass act: ZN stained glass.

Posted on June 13, 2013 by junebug

Sometimes doors close for a reason. A beautiful one.

This was the case for Zac Nafziger, a former employee of Rosetta Stone who, along with several others, was laid off after twelve years with the company. He had enjoyed the steadiness of it, the reliable pay and benefits, the friendships forged there. He had enjoyed working in the heart of the city, watching it change and grow, watching the company change and grow from a small business to a formidable global presence. And so, when the layoff occurred, it was like a strange break up — at first, heartbreak and shock, but then a realization that the relationship had indeed changed, and maybe it was instead an opportunity.

Having studied, appreciated, and practiced art since his adolescence, Zac soon decided that the most feasible option for him and his family was to dive headlong into the stained glass business — the selling of it, not just the making of it, which was new and slightly uncomfortable territory. Today, suddenly he finds himself doing just that: he reports to his studio at Larkin Arts each day, makes stained glass, and sells it. And although he no longer has the safety net of a bona fide employer, he’s doing all right. Moreover, he’s a happy fellow.

He packed up all his gear and supplies and traveled 1500 miles to set up ZN Stained Glass in a studio space at Larkin Arts, just a block or two from his former job. Yep, 1500 miles. 15 miles, 100 times. He has a lot of stuff. He does note some important differences between being your own boss and working for someone else. For example, you don’t get paid when you use the restroom, or leave for a quick lunch, or chat with a colleague. No. Now, any sort of break during the day costs him money. If he’s not working, he’s not earning, and that’s an interesting reality many of us don’t know. It might sound great to set your own hours and work wherever you want… the library, a coffee shop, at home… but it takes discipline. As he says, at home there’s always some distraction. The TV, or the Internet, or some household task. Suddenly the day is gone and nothing’s accomplished. Bleeding money. So he tries to work at Larkin as much as possible. There’s really nothing else he can do in his small studio but produce.

His process is interesting yet simple. His inspiration comes in the form of personified ideas that talk to him, usually interrupting him while he’s already working on a piece. So he might sketch that idea just as a reminder, and then draw a full-size picture of it before he starts to cut glass.

He might put on a movie or a series of reruns just for background noise (this is part of Brandy’s process, too), but sometimes he works in total silence. He usually works barefoot, and his work table becomes a glass-shard pricker bush that slices his forearms when he leans into it. (I know it sounds masochistic, but it’s the process, people.) Many of his works, as you can see from the photos, contain circles and geometrics, some that are sort of pattern-ish and some seemingly random, but all somehow adding up to a cohesive, comprehensible, eloquent final product.

This appeals to people because much of his work is beautiful without it having to be something. There might not be a single recognizable object in one of his works, but its arrangement is gorgeous in a way you won’t grow tired of. There’s a quiet, timeless sophistication about his work that cannot be acquired in the home goods section of any store. If my description falls short, which I’m sure it does, just go on down to Larkin and see him at the studio. He’s quite friendly and seems to like talking about his work and current projects; right now he’s working on stained glass inlays for an entire kitchen’s worth of cabinets, plus wine cellar doors.

Other than his artistic abilities, he says his strengths lie in cooking on the grill, solving problems, and being able to see the big picture… which all sorta relate to his craft if you think about it. I mean, you have to be able to see the big picture when you’re arranging a couple thousand tiny pieces of glass. And his latest news is this: he pretty much bought Avalon Stained Glass School in Kentucky and everything inside it, and he’s driving to Kentucky this weekend to get the loot. It’s like FIFTEEN years worth of glass. So he was pretty excited when we were there with him today.

When I first saw the name of his business — ZN Stained Glass — I thought it said “zen.” And then I wondered if his middle name starts with an E, because it would be cool if ZEN were his initials. They’re not. But I refuse to let go of the yin/yang thing going on here… that he lost his job, which seemed like a disaster, but it turned into a blessing lined with luck and hard work and faith. Two sides of the same coin. You know, like a circle.

major artery: larkin arts.

Posted on February 18, 2013 by junebug

Remember when Studio Art Shop was downtown? This was way back when Dave’s Taverna was on Water Street and Main, and Jokers (now the Blue Nile) was the hot spot for local music. Studio Art Shop was located where Oasis Gallery is now… I remember that art store fondly… the smell of paint and canvas, rows of colorful bottles, rainbows of oil pastels, stacks of naked sketch books, jars of never-used brushes with smooth wooden handles, neat paper bags of rabbit skin glue, Gesso, tubs of Gojo. Simply walking in there would inspire even the least artistic of us (like me) to create.

Needing more space, Studio Art Shop expanded to a larger store on Neff Avenue and became the place for art students to purchase supplies each semester. Lamentably, Studio Art Shop closed its doors for good a few years ago.

No doubt Valerie Smith remembers Studio Art Shop, too, and thanks to her, her hubby Scott, Lynda Bostrom, and many other local art supporters, Harrisonburg once again has a full-service art supply store on the Court Square… an apt location in the heart of a city that loves and values art of all kinds.

But Larkin Arts is not just a source of supplies; it’s also a gallery, a school, and a studio–a place for learning, creating, and displaying art. The store itself carries thousands of products for the new, developing, or veteran artist, and a cozy lounge area where one can sit and sketch or peruse hundreds of art books from their library, all the while listening to albums on the old-school stereo system, from Loggins and Messina to Talking Heads to Fugazi, the Beatles, or even “Latin for Lovers.” :) And, even if you’re not an “artist,” many of their items make lovely, unique gifts for people of all ages and for any occasion, really.

In the space adjacent to the store is the gallery and reception area. Two large, open, bright spaces regularly feature curated, juried, or group exhibitions.

Down the hall to the right are three (three!) classrooms hosting a variety of classes. Every Monday from 6:30 to 8:30pm the public is welcome to attend live figure drawing. Children ages 4 – 12 can attend classes in drawing, painting, sculpture, ceramics, weaving, and art history. What a great way to spend dark, chilly afternoons, and when the weather is warm and school’s out, kids can attend week-long art classes — even one taught by our own Brandy Somers! — during the 2013 Youth Summer Art Program.

The left side of the hallway houses local artists’ studios. Large, bright, open rooms with closets and plenty of space to haul out your supplies and make a big ole mess.

In the last couple of months, Brandy and I have visited Larkin Arts a number of times. Back in December, we did some Christmas shopping there. More recently, we’ve gone to visit the gallery. Nathan Shearer’s simply framed photographs of LEGOs blew me away. One, I love LEGOs — I even have a LEGO room in my house. Two, the scenes he depicts in the photos are both realistic and imaginative. Three, his attention to detail, posing little LEGO figures in front of less playful backgrounds, getting the scale just right so that the photo is as believable as a portrait. And four, the colors! I wish I could have bought every one of them and hung them all together on a single wall in my house. You couldn’t be unhappy in that space. To see more of Nathan’s photos, please check out Katie Schmidt’s photos, here.

The other exhibit we attended was that of Jade Webber, an artist currently studying at JMU after completing a degree in Fine Art at New Mexico State University. Her large, heavily textured paintings depict the natural world, which is, as she describes it, a blend of “the metaphysical, the supernatural, and the ineffable.” Her work particularly reflects a love of animals, who “remind us that we, too, are animals. We are subject to forces beyond our control.” In this way she underscores how natural art is to the human experience: it springs organically from the artist herself; tools of wood and hair and metal push around hues of the outside world we see every day, resulting in a connection between artist and viewer that is not forced, but… ineffably genuine. You can see Jade’s work at Larkin Arts through the end of February.

The kids were with us, of course, and what would an ilovemyburg post be without the antics of children? Let’s see. Bree dropped her cupcake on the floor, icing side down (major tragedy). A couple of the Judy Chops were there to perform (because, let’s face it — all of ’em would have caused a sonic boom-ish catastrophe knocking the artwork right off the walls), and so lots of giggly, dizzying dancing ensued. Scott whipped out some brown Model Magic for the kids to “play with.”

And Cal left a note on Brandy’s car that said, “Your butt looks really good.” She laughed and acted like it was silly, but I bet she taped that thing to her bathroom mirror. Ha ha!! After she previewed this post, she clarified that it is NOT on her bathroom mirror. It’s on her fridge. :)

Congratulations to Valerie and Scott for opening this Harrisonburg gem. We hope you will visit soon and see why it’s so, so special. It’s yet another reason we love our burg.

i love my burg.

happiness is harrisonburg shaped.

Tag Archives: art studio

check meowt: wonderkittens!

light up: spitzer art center.

glass act: ZN stained glass.

major artery: larkin arts.

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